The Crossroads of Life
by ArrancarMaiden
Summary: Adopted by Echo Uchiha
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Not even Harry Potter or Buffy: the Vampire Slayer. If they did, do you think I would be writing this for free on this site? Heck no, I would be getting paid for it. But I am not, unforunately. So nothing recognizable belongs to me, alas. (big sigh......)**

**The Crossroads of Life**

**Chapter one**

**This is an idea that I wanted to get down on 'paper' before it disappeared totally from my mind. **

**Summary: Harry and Dylan Potter vanquished Voldemort together, but Dylan was thought to have done it by himself. They are separated, Dylan to the Dursleys and Harry to an orphanage. From the orphanage Harry's story started, from being adopted, to going to a whole other country. Sunnydale, California to be exact. **

**Background:**

**Harry Potter and Dylan Potter were twins. Dylan the eldest and Harry the youngest. Both were totally loved by and doted on by their parents, but they chose to trust the wrong person. But on that fateful Halloween night they were betrayed by their secret-keeper, and Voldemort attacked the house. But something terrible happened. When the Dark Lord turned his wand on the twins and spoke those words, the spell bounced off both of them and hit him. That destroyed his body and sent his spirit fleeing, making them the Children-Who-Lived. But only Dylan was left with a visible mark, however small it was on his forehead, while Harry's healed. So a mistake was made and Dylan was thought to have destroyed Voldemort. For the reason the Potters had been in hiding was because of a prophecy spoken to Dumbledore. But unknown to him and the spy who heard it, that particular one was fake, made up to get a job. The true prophecy had been spoken at the same time, far away in another country. These were the seer's exact words:**

**'The Ones with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches  
****Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies,  
****Only one will be marked, but difference it makes not. He will have powers the Dark Lord knows not  
****Beware, Lord of the Light. Beward thy choice  
****Beware the fake words. Do not head them. For great troubles will follow  
****The Ones with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches  
****Look for the missing half on top of the Mouth of Hell  
Only together can they vanquish the Dark Lord  
With the missing one will come the Angel of Darkness and the Blood Warrior  
And the Dark tremble at their coming ****  
****The Ones with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'**

**The comrades of the seer who had spoken knew of the mess in England, and so guessed just who the Dark Lord was. From then on, it was decided to watch and prepare. And the knowledge of the prophecy was kept to a few, in fear of the consequences of the wrong person hearing it. **

**At the ruins of the Potters house, a part of the real prophecy came true. The Lord of the Light, called Dumbledore, chose the wrong twin, not realizing both did it at the same time. Dylan was called the Boy-Who-Lived and Harry was forgotten. With their parents dead and their godfather thought to be a traitor (and later thought to be a murderer), Dylan was sent to the Dursleys and Harry was sent to an orphanage with no conscience. It was assumed that he would come back when he got his letter. But it was assumed wrong. **

**At the orphanage, Harry is adopted at the age of two by a young wizarding couple, June and Edward Harris. After his new parents were killed in a car accident four years later, while visiting Muggle London, Harry or Alexander as he is now called, is sent to his only known living relatives, Jessica and Tony Harris in Sunnydale, California. And there he would be thrown into a world that the Potters never expected him to face. **

**Harry's story begins at the orphanage, when he was two years old. **

The St. Mary's orphanage in London was known throughout the world as one of the best orphanages in the world. Unlike many other orphanages, the owners of the orphanage cared about the children that they cared. Eddy and Martha Richards would never find it in their hearts to do anything less. They were both kind hearted people, who were the right people for the job.

One of the reasons was that Eddy had been orphaned at a young age and had been sent to live in an orphanage straight after. The orphanage he had grown up in wasn't the best place, and was not very kept up. Eddy, along with the other children, had grown up under the thumb of older and meaner children. In fact, one of the boys was part of the reason that Eddy had started an orphanage. That boy had been called Tom Riddle, and the way that he had terrorized the orphanage with his strange gifts and behavior was an inspiration to Eddy to try to catch any such behavior at a young age and to change it for the better.

Eddy had gotten out of the orphanage by attending college and from there had gone on to meet Martha Talwen. Martha Talwen had always wanted to watch and work with children. They had married, and two months later found out that Martha was unable to have any children. From there the idea was born. And the rest is history.

St. Mary's Orphanage was well kept, clean, and neat. The children were taught manners, and the proper way of acting toward others. Misbehavior and bullying was met with harsh punishments, which generally deterred most from acting out beyond the normal learning way that all kids have to do.

One another special thing about this particular orphanage was that it had both Muggle and Magical children. Martha was a half-blood witch that had been born to a wizard father and a Muggle mother. The Magical children were taught how to act with non-magical folk around, like the other children. Accidental magic was strangely uncommon, even though it was there. The Muggle children rarely noticed that anything out of the ordinary had happened.

Due to the strict teaching of tolerance by Martha and the other teachers, the Magical children did not have that attitude that many other magical children elsewhere had where Muggles were inferior or just strange or stupid. They were taught that all people, Muggle and Magical alike, was special and had many different talents and gifts. Muggles just didn't have magic and that didn't make them inferior. Just different.

One of the newest inhabitants of the orphanage was a little black haired and green eyes boy by the name of Harry Potter. He was the brother of the 'Boy-Who-Lived', who had been beside his brother on that fateful night when Voldemort had attacked. Together they were really the Children-Who-Lived, but that was a fact that no one else knew.

To the Richards and everyone else, Harry was just a sweet and intelligent little boy who was adored by all those around him. There was just an innocence around him that not many had. He had lots of playmates and friends, who were all fiercely protective of him. Whenever they would go to a park, he was surrounded by his bodyguards/playmates.

He had only been there about a year, after his parents had been killed. Martha and the others who could do magic knew who his parents had been and his brother was. Of course they did. They couldn't help it. But it didn't make them look at him in any different way.

It was in the middle of September when a couple came hand in hand through the front doors. They were June and Edward Harris, a newlywed couple who had just barely graduated from Hogwarts.

June was a short and stocky young woman with long blond hair and rosy cheeks. She always had a never-ending smile on her face, which was in full bloom today. Edward was almost her very opposite. He was tall, dark-haired, and quiet. He usually didn't smile, but his was almost always cheerful.

Both had just graduated from Hogwarts. June had been the Head Girl, one of the stars of the Hufflepuff House. She had a mastery in charms and was one of Professor Flitwick's favorite students. Edward was formerly of Ravenclaw and a popular student of his House. They had met in school, and had started to date in fifth year. By six year they had been steady, and was rarely away from each other whenever they could help it. They had married that summer after their seventh year.

June wanted a child right away. But when it was found out that there would be complications in birth, they had forgone the usual way of having kids a while, at least until that could be resolved. So June had suggested adopting and Edward had agreed, not being able to deny her anything. They had heard of this place from a friend.

When they were seen coming in the front door, Martha went to greet them right away. "Welcome to St. Mary's. Is there anything I could do for you?"

When they expressed interest in adopting one of children, Martha beamed and asked them to follow her. She took them to the large area in the back. The area consisted of little room that opened up to a playground. It was here that they were left, with instructions if they needed anything, just ask one of the older children to go get her.

Sometime later, Martha came back to check up on them. She found them near the sandbox, actually June in it playing with little Harry, and Edward talking to a slightly older boy nearby. She smiled when she saw Martha and Harry together, and knew automatically that they had found someone when she saw Martha's face when she looked at Harry.

Sure enough, they expressed interest in adopted little Harry. Martha arranged the papers and even the blood adoption potion when they asked. They wanted to make Harry theirs and their only.

When Harry was given the potion, only a few things changed. His facial structure changed a bit, but not that much. His messy black hair grew a bit longer but not very more manageable. His eye color changed to a brown. Then Harry did something that they did not expect. When he was shown a mirror to see how he looked, he took one look at his eye color and frowned. Then proceeded to change it back to green. Then he grinned at his new parents, and held out his hands to show that he wanted picked up. He was a Metamorphmage, able to change his appearance at will.

Sure enough, in the next few months, he would randomly change his eye color from green to brown and back again.

They had his name changed, because June really didn't like it. It was also to show a new start, a new life with his new parents. They named him Alexander after June's grandfather, and for his middle name they picked Lavelle. The name Lavelle had been in the family for centuries, and had once been the name of a high ranking family of noble birth whose exact origins were unknown. The Lavelles had appeared about 1000 AD in the land which would be called Britain later. It was unknown where they had come from.

A popular family story had been passed down, of a man and woman with a child had appeared next to a little hut in which a older man and his grandson lived. That was the story, them appearing out of nowhere right in front of the old man in the front of the house. The story went on to say that after the older man had died, his grandson had stayed with the mysterious family. They moved, eventually coming in contact with the then current wizarding world, which was just in its beginning stage. They had eventually become one of the richest and oldest families, if not the richest.

June had been the last direct descendant of the family, even though she had no clue to this fact. And now Alexander was the heir to the family, even though that wasn't known to him.

That was how Harry James Potter, youngest son of Lily and James Potter and twin to Dylan Sirius Potter, became officially be blood a Harris. He became Alexander Lavelle Harris, heir to the Lavelle Family and all which comes from it. He gained two parents, June and Edward Harris, who quickly had fallen in love with him at the orphanage and would grow to love him more in the next few years.

**Time Skip (4 years later)**

London News

London Times Newspaper **(1)**

**Couple Killed in Car Crash! Young Son Orphaned!**

**By Allen Beatri**

**Last night, at about 7 p.m. an unfortunate tragedy occurred. While driving back to their hotel after visiting the London Museum, June and Edward Harris was hit by a drunk driver and instantly killed. Their young son, whose name has not been disclosed, survived the crash but obtained some very serious injuries. But his parents did not survive and were killed instantly on impact. The son was driven to the nearest hospital, where we have been told that he was stabilized and should have a full recovery.**

**The drunk driver of the other car also survived with only very minor injuries and was taken directly into custody after fleeing the scene. He is expected to face two counts of manslaughter and for driving under the influence.**

**We at the newspaper would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the young boy who is now orphaned. **

In the busy American airport at the edges of a busy Californian city, a young stewardess waited, holding the hand of a young boy of about six, who looked like he was ready to start crying and with fresh tear tracks on his face. Noticing this, the young woman picked him up to hold him, all the while looking around for the boy's new guardians.

The stewardess's name was Cathy Johnson and she had been given the responsibility of seeing this boy off to his new guardian. Poor child had been orphaned and was being sent to his closest living relatives across the world and away from everything he knew. He had been crying a large part of the beginning parts of the flight and had only calmed down when he had cried himself to sleep. The woman next to him on the flight had taken it upon herself to help the crying six year old and had comforted him part of the flight, even though it didn't really do anything.

Looking over, Cathy saw a young dark haired woman coming toward them. She being the only person coming to this gate, she had to be Jessica Harris. She matched the picture that Cathy had been showed. The woman saw them and came over.

After checking ID, Cathy knelt down next to the boy. "Sweetie, this is your Aunt Jessica. She is going to take care of you now. Is there anything you need before I go?"

She asked softly.

Looking up through his bangs, the little boy shyly said that he didn't need anything and also asked if she was coming with him.

Cathy looked sad and said no. She had grown quite attached to Alexander during the trip, and was sad to see him go. She gave his hand over to his Aunt, who had gotten all of his stuff together. Leading him away, Cathy saw the little boy wave at her and she waved back.

Then he was gone, into his new life. And this life was not what anybody could of guessed could be.

**(1) I am not British and am not at all familiar with any British names that their newspapers would be called. So shoot me.**


	2. Chapter 2: Discovery

**The Crossroads of Life, ch. 2**

**I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I've been SO busy lately that it's not even funny. **

**Just want to cover some pointers.**

**One, Dumbledore is not evil or manipulating in this story. It doesn't fit the story and the way it is heading, despite how much I like reading such stories. He generally wants to help people. He does make mistakes, so he's not perfect. He had no idea of the fact that the prophecy that HE heard was false and had no idea of the existence of the true one. So, no evil Dumbles. Got it?**

**Harry was renamed Alexander, later choosing to be called Xander. He is actually a really strong wizard. Both Dylan and he are actually stronger than even Merlin was, and that is separate from each other. Together, they are even more powerful. **

**Xander knows that he is not the son of Tony and Jessica Harris. Tony, at first, was not the abusive drunk that he would later become. That happened when Xander was ten after he lost his job. Jessica took care of Xander to the best of her ability. He was told when he was nine about what had happened to his parents (Well, adopted. They didn't know about the Potters.) Xander loves both of them like they were his birth parents, even his dad. **

**Xander has had no magical training. Actually, he has no idea of his magical heritage because he lives on the Hellmouth. The dark energies of the Hellmouth block anyone outside from sensing any young wizards or witches that needs training. **

**Events in Sunnydale are basically is the same as the show. Here are the differences:**

**Xander looks a bit different. He's shorter than he is in the show, actually a bit shorter (one inch) than Willow. This is how I pictured Harry in the books, so thus. He does not look like a miniature James Potter. His hair is darker than James's had been, and sometimes had a bluish tint. No glasses. Hated that in the books. And no need for glasses or contact, because of perfect vision. **

**He still had the abilities of a Metamorphmage, and knows it. His friend, besides Willow, has no idea of this ability. Willow had known since second grade, when he had accidentally changed in front of her. Jesse had known too. **

**He loves pranks. He is the prankster of the school, but never was caught because of cunning and planning. He was like his real father James and Sirius Black in that aspect of his personality. **

**Also, another difference is that he is in great physical condition, and also has taken a lot of martial arts and fighting classes, along with learning street fighting. **

**Jesse didn't get turned, he was rescued at the last moment by Buffy, who had caught sight of them leaving the Bronze and recognized Darla as a vampire. Darla barely escaped Buffy, but was staked soon after by her childe Angel. Jesse also joined the good fight against the creatures of the night, and has been a great help to the Scoobies. **

**Also, here Xander never hooked up with Cordelia. She, after finally seeing the worth of Jesse after Jesse saved her from being turned, gave Jesse a chance. And what do you know, later they were dating. And happy.**

**Willow is also, like Xander, magical. And she found out about that when she had been contacted by a wizard when traveling on the East Coast. She started to learn the magical arts and about the wizarding world after that. She has no idea though of the fact that Xander is also a wizard. **

**Xander got some complications from the hyena possession. The spirit, instead of leaving, merged with his spirit. This he confided in Giles, who helped him to come to terms with the new abilities and the strange things that started to happen. His senses were greatly enhanced, he got faster, and he gained the ability to change into a hyena at will. He started to feel very protective of those that he deemed **_**pack.**_** Pack included his aunt Jessica, uncle Tony, Willow, Giles, Buffy, Jesse, later Oz (who was bitten by a werewolf and became one), Cordelia, and the two neighborhood 'friendly' vampires.**

**The two neighborhood friendly vampires were Angel and Spike, also called Will by Xander. Angel had been cursed with the soul (no happiness clause though). One little miscalculation by the Gypsies though caused his childe, and their childe, to gain a soul too. Drusilla didn't last long, she was still insane and was staked by a slayer in New York. Penn was in LA, Angel still kept contact. **

**Spike chose to stay with his grand sire, or sire as the fact that Angel had basically took on his 'upbringing' himself. So, when Angel came to help the slayer, he came too. **

**They both struck up a friendship with Xander, after saving him from some demons that wanted **ahem** 'relations' with Xander.**

**Basically, everything in season one of BTVS happened, if you count the changes. **

**Everything that happened to Harry in the books up to the end of the fourth book happened to his brother Dylan. Dursleys, Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Sirius, and everything else. **

**Dylan, until talking with Sirius and Remus, had had no idea of the existence of Harry. He was infuriated with Dumbledore and everyone else for not telling him of his brother sooner. He had always wanted family, had dreamed of one for years. He had strange dreams of a boy that looked like him with green eyes for years now, just not having recognized the significance of it. **

**Dumbledore had not told him, when he was confronted about it be an extremely angry Dylan, because the search for Harry's location was still going on. When there was no mention of Harry in the stack of letters that went out, it had been discovered that Harry had been adopted. But unfortunately that was all that had been found, because someone had forgotten to write down who had adopted the boy and where they lived. Or even a new name. All efforts to find Harry was unsuccessful up to then. **

**As Dylan confronted the shamefaced and regretful Headmaster, a young witch named Ella Stevens was going through some papers.**

Ella Stevens was two years out of Hogwarts and was training in the beginning courses of becoming an Auror. As all beginners started out, she was assisting an older Auror by the name of Ricky Sythe in going through some papers that had been littering his desk for a while. Most of it was junk, and was thrown away. But there was one thing that she was unsure about.

Ella frowned at the piece of paper that she had just uncovered. It wasn't parchment, but some other type of paper. She recognized it as a type that many Muggles (and a surprisingly amount of non-muggle businesses) used.

"Who's Harry Potter, sir?" She tenderly asked.

Her supervisor's head shot up in surprise and brown eyes focused on her. "Where did you hear that name?"

She handed the paper over to him, slightly alarmed at his reaction. He grabbed it and looked the paper over. When he finished looking it over, he looked up at her with a grin.

"I'll be damned, this is it! All this time on my desk." He looked guilty for a moment, "If I would have just taken the time to clean this place out sooner, I would have found it."

"What is it, sir, if you don't mind my asking?"

"A sign that we've been looking for five years now. Finish up here, Stevens, and then you can go." He jumped up the paper in hand and ran out the door.

Dylan started in alarm as a head suddenly appeared in the fireplace.

"Headmaster, we've got it!" The middle aged man said in a joyous tone.

Dumbledore recovered immediately. "Got what Rick?"

"Harry Potter's adoption papers."

Dumbledore's face showed surprise, then excitement. "Come on through then."

An average looking man stepped out of the fireplace, holding a piece of paper in his hand and handing it to Dumbledore.

"He was adopted January 19th of his second year by June and Edward Harris." The man happily announced, grinning.

Dumbledore showed the same excitement and no small amount of hope. "June and Edward Harris. What a surprise." Then he frowned, and then looked at Ricky. "But they were killed some years ago, I think…"

Before he could look more alarmed, the man held up his hand and stopped the flow of words. "Unfortunately they were. But I looked it up and their son, by the name of Alexander, survived. The exact same name that Harry Potter's was turned into, as indicated by that." Waving at the paper that Dumbledore held. "And there's more."

He looked at Dylan, finally noticing that he was there. Dumbledore waved his hand and indicated that it was fine for Dylan to hear the next part.

"I got some trainees to look into it before I came here. They should be here soon…"

Another head, this time of a younger man, appeared in the fireplace. "Sir got it."

"Already?" It looked like he had already expected it though.

"Yep. Alexander Lavelle Harris, once known as Harry Potter, in currently residing in Sunnydale, California, in the United States."

Everyone, besides the newcomer in the fireplace and Dylan, turned pale. Dylan was confused to see this. What's so wrong with Sunnydale? It sounded like a nice place to live. He voiced this.

"What's so wrong about Sunnydale?" He questioned, looking confused.

Dumbledore ran a hand down his face, and said almost absently.

"The Hellmouth is there."

**Ooooo, cliffhanger! Hehe. (Evil laughter) Review please. Sorry if it was so short. Just setting up the background info more.**


	3. Chapter 3: Preparation

The Crossroads of Life chapter 3

This is just a short preview. I will add more tomorrow.

Also, there was a slight mistake before, oh about two chapters ago I think. Willow does know that Xander is a metamorphasis, whatever that is spelled. But not that he is a Wizard. Because this is my story, there are people with the ability to change their appearance, a Meta-whatever, but they are not necessarily magical, wizards or witches. Get it? Hopefully.

_Blah _is telepathic talk

**Previously on Crossroads…**

**"Yep. Alexander Lavelle Harris, once known as Harry Potter, in currently residing in Sunnydale, California, in the United States."**

**Everyone, besides the newcomer in the fireplace and Dylan, turned pale. Dylan was confused to see this. What's so wrong with Sunnydale? It sounded like a nice place to live. He voiced this.**

**"What's so wrong about Sunnydale?" He questioned, looking confused.**

**Dumbledore ran a hand down his face, and said almost absently.**

**"The Hellmouth is there."**

Chapter 3

Dylan looked confused. "What's the Hellmouth?"

Dumbledore walked over to one of his many twinkets, a small globe that sat inconspicously in the middle of the shelf. In the globe was an array of dark colors, mostly black and red but also blue, changing colors all the time. It looked like a swirling mass of dark clouds that were constantly showing other colors that usually would not be seen in a natural storm. He picked it up carefully, looking at it for a moment, and walked back over to his desk. Placing it gently on the desk in front of Dylan, he sighed.

"A Hellmouth is a place of immense evil, my boy. The gateway, or portal, between this dimension and the next. There are more than one Hellmouth, but Sunnydale sits on the most active and the largest. This," he tapped the globe with one finger without looking at it, looking instead at a spot above Dylan. "Is the rather remarkable little invention of Tythra Fier, the founder and first headmistress of the first magical school in the Americas. The school is named after her in honor of her lifework by her students, who many went on to establish schools in faraway lands that previously had no magical educational areas in which to learn the art of magic. Tythr, the Academy of the Magical Arts, is still around today, and is North America's version of Hogwarts. Infact, Hogwarts and Tythr have had a history together that does not extend to any other school. But that itself is another story.

Tythra Fier, before establishing the school, had gotten the idea to study hellmouths. Particularly the Hellmouth in California. She spent many years living there and in the surrounding areas, studying. It is thanks to her work that we have most of the knowledge now of the Hellmouths. She experimented with wards and spells that wouldn't be changed by the Hellmouth energies and twisted. She succeeded. Now each ministry of every country that has a Hellmouth or Hellmouths in it can somewhat shield themselves and their establishments against dark energies. There are limits to it, but by in large it works. This was a wonderful discovery. It has allowed for more study and saved money that would otherwise spent on setting up numerous wards and fixing damage.

She didn't just study the Hellmouth itself, she also made discoveries in the creatures that flocked to it. She created spells and potions that would help to defeat evil creatures, wards that would keep all but the most powerful out, or even the most powerful if large or powerful enough. She had plenty of opportunity to study these creatures.

You see, the Hellmouth attracts evil creatures of all sorts to it, drawing them in like moths to a flame. The death toll of the small town of Sunnydale exceeds every large city in the United States, or the whole world for that matter. Even the towns and locations of the rest of the hellmouths. This is despite the work that aurors and demon hunters do. They are very successful on the smaller Hellmouths, but not the Californian Hellmouth. It is just too large in the first place." He looked grim. "There are undiscovered wizards and witches living there, as we speak. And for those that are born there, and raised there, their power is greatly enhanced. The Hellmouth energies are absorbed through time into them. If they live long enough that is. The magical core of a wizard or witch attracts the sort of evil that inhabits a Hellmouth. The more powerful, the more of an attraction, and if they live past the age of ten and then fifteen, there is more of a pull. I am sad to say that the majority don't get passed the age of nine. And if they do, caution is necessary for those that learn magic that lived there even for a short time, because of the dark energies. Especially children. Or…"

"Or what?" asked Dylan.

"Or they can be easily corrupted, easily drawn to the darkness. For your brother, to have lived there for so long, it is essential that he is careful. The dark will try to call to him, and it will succeed to a point. Those that have Hellmouth energies in them have a certain affinity to the dark arts. But it doesn't mean they are evil. Some dark arts are not actually evil, just need more caution to those that practice it. The Hellmouth itself is not evil. And yes, the Hellmouth is in a way alive. It can not control what kind of energies it has. The core of the Hellmouth actually, according to Fier, is pure and good. Something happened long ago to the Hellmouths that made the energies that are given out dark, something immensely terrible. What it was, she had no idea, and no one has discovered what. To most wizards, the energies make it unbearable to be near a Hellmouth for long. And no spell can get passed to detect magical children that need to learn as of yet. That is probably why all efforts to locate your brother have been unsuccessful."

"There have been attempts to get past the energies to detect the magical children that reside there, but all efforts have been unsuccessful so far." Rick, whose presence had been forgotten by Dylan, said.

"Then, my brother is untrained and probably has no idea what he is."

"No idea." Rick confirmed.

"I want to go get him, or at least talk to him." Dylan announced, looking up.

"That is why a few members of the Order will go with you, trained members to help protect you, your brother, or both. They are ready now, in fact." Dylan shot a glance at Dumbledore, whose face took on innocent look. But he wasn't fooled, not at all. Dumbledore's face went blank for a second, and then cleared. "They are coming now."

"Who?"

"Severus, Remus, Sirius, and a few others will be going. They all are going for special reasons, which I will explain when they get here. And before you protest, they need to go. And before you ask, if you would like your friends can go if they wanted to, if they agree to have protection at all times." There were steps on the staircase, and Severus, Remus, and Sirius came up in that order.

Sirius had made up with Sev a while ago, having to live with the former spy when his cover had been discovered. (**AN: Sirius will not die, promise.**) With it basically being them in the Black house, they had made up their differences and actually learned to be friends. Sev was basically the same way he had been, just as sarcastic but less cold. Remus, who had never really had a problem with Sev, had fit into the circle of friends well. Remus, who was engaged to Tonks now, was happier, less pale and less sickly looking. He had found a way to come in terms with the wolf, and even to control it on the full moons without any use of potions.

It had been only them in permanent residence, at least for now, at the Black house but then more came. Sev had escaped death and torture at the hands of Voldemort by the help of Draco, who really did not want to be a death eater and had begun to really hate Voldemort, the 'man' that his father had raised him to practically worship. It took seeing what Voldemort actually did to those around, even to his own followers, for Draco to see the madness. After Sev's escape, he had escaped notice until one fateful night when his father discovered his involvement. He was disowned, beaten, cursed, tortured, and more to the brink of death, then abandoned to die. Somehow, Sev had been able to find him and bring him to help to save his life. It took a really long time for him to heal, but he did heal, in both mind and body. More open to the ideas of muggleborns being able to offer more and to the truth that the 'pureblood' as he had thought of himself was going extinct fast. Inbreeding and intermarriage was destroying them, by every generation tending to be less powerful, and the more of the chance of defective genes, and will be their downfall.

Surprisingly, Draco and Hermoine had hit it off and eventually the other two boys gave in.

Draco, no longer a Malfoy, had been adopted and taken in by his cousin Sirius, and given the title of heir to the House of Black. Sirius had been delighted to finally have a 'son' he could teach and pass on everything it means to be a Black, so the House would not go extinct like so many others. But it would flourish, hopefully and with a bit of luck.

Sev, Remus, and Sirius all looked confused, no doubt wondering why they had been summoned by Dumbledore, who had mentally only told Sev that it was important and they were needed now. They were wondering what was making such a range of emotions in the room. Excitement, worry, happiness, and hope were all on everybody's faces.

"Severus, it is time."

With those words, Sev's face went white. He seemed at a loss of words for a moment and finally as able to stammer out, "Albus…"

"No, Severus, you are ready." He looked at the puzzled faces of that were gathered around. "If you would not tell them, I will."

Sev looked unsure for a moment, then nodded. "California." Dumbledore nodded. "I was born there, on the Hellmouth."

There was a gasp all around, as jaws were slackened. Dumbledore waited for a moment, then said, "Severus is a Hellmouth-born wizard. His power, the power that a Hellmouth-born wizard can use alone, will be essential. The creatures of the Hellmouth will never be able to sneak up on you with him present, since he has spent years developing that talent. You would be in good hands. He also, although he has not been there for a while, knows that area well and can guide you. And, he will be able to teach Dylan's brother what he knows, since Alexander as he is called now will be able to do them as well. One doesn't have to be born there to be able to do them, just has to have been raised there from a young age."

Sirius, whose face showed that he was thinking, blurted out, "You found Harry on the Hellmouth?"

"Yes, and it is essential that you leave soon to find him. Your questions will be answered later, I promise. Remus is going because he is a werewolf, and possesses the abilities to protect you better. Strength, werewolf instincts, along with magical ability. Sirius, you are one of our finest aurors to have come out of training. You are needed. Now, I would suggest that you pack. You must find your brother Dylan, find him before our enemies."

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Xander, at the moment that the people that would change his life were all gathering in a somewhat small office discussing him, was strolling down the street alone. He was alone because after the Master was destroyed there had been little sign of any evil vampires. They still patrolled, even with Buffy in LA, because they were all, well those that were out of shape, undergoing training via Spike. Spike, after noticing that some of the group was out of shape and needed common skills, at least in his opinion, of defense and fighting tactics, had undertaken the mission of training them all. He had found a lovely abandoned gym, which was easily fixed up and remodeled. There, they started their training. Xander, after proving to Spike that he didn't need the training all the time, was able to escape the first sessions. All those of the group that proved that they didn't need the training were able to. Later, Spike wanted him there to help. He was enjoying the time alone at the moment.

He was slightly feeling sorry for the others, in Spike's evil little clutches. Because Spike, no matter how much he loved him as a brother and family, still had his flaws. He pushed for perfection in himself and others when it came to fighting, so none of his family would be hurt in anyway or killed. Spike pushed because he cared. But it still didn't make him want to be in his friends' shoes right now.

It was hard to feel sorry for them, because for the past couple of days he had been distracted. Something was coming. Something was going to change. He didn't know what, just that it will happen soon. And he was afraid. He was willing to admit that. It wasn't dangerous, exactly, just different. And familiar at the same time.

He had heard a whisper a few times when no one had been about. He had turned around expecting to see someone, and had seen no one. The whisper was getting stronger and there would be more to it. It was like someone was trying to talk to him, but was still working on it, or was too far away, or both. It was so familiar, so familiar like he should know the person that was doing the whispering well, but he didn't know them. It had started a few hours ago, and wouldn't stop. Every twenty minutes or so there would be another try, and it would last longer. He had decided to take a walk, to get away from everybody, so they wouldn't think he was crazy if he started talking to the air.

Speaking of, there it was again. A kinda buzzing in his mind, then a whisper. This time, though, it was clear.

_"Hello."_

He stopped in the middle of the street surprised. That was the first time it was an actual word. He had to respond to it, so he moved to a tree, and sat down. Then asked,

"Who are you?"

There was a sense of nervousness, excitement, and anxiety all at once. Then an answer that shook Xander to his core and made him grateful he had sat down because if he had been standing, he would of fallen and probably hurt himself.

_"Dylan, your brother."_


End file.
